Test allows YouTube viewers to watch in full-screen mode while also viewing comments

Spotted by Twitter and Reddit users, Google has been testing a revision to the comments section for the Android version of YouTube. With the test, Google will allow YouTube users to view and scroll comments on Android even when in full-screen mode. Previously, in full-screen mode users would not be able to read comments because of the lack of room. With the update, the video is minimized allowing users to view the content while the comments appear on a sliding panel.

After viewing all of the comments that a user might care to read, swiping down on the screen from the top of the banner will hide these comments and once they are swiped away, the screen returns to its usual size. Now we should point out that you can also read comments and view a YouTube video at the same time if you're watching the video in portrait mode.

If Google is pleased with the response from the testing and decides to roll this out to all Android powered YouTube users, we might get a good idea what Android users think about certain content on the app. Instead of having to choose between watching full-screen YouTube content and getting to read comments from those fellow YouTube users, you'll be able to do both. It's called multitasking!

Again, the testing by Google appears to be limited in scope, but we won't object if you decide to see whether you and your phone are part of the test.